James Hahn, Roberto Castro lead Humana Challenge

James Hahn smiles during a media conference after finishing his second round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament at the La Quinta Country Club Course at PGA West Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. Hahn is tied for the lead with Roberto Castro. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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James Hahn smiles during a media conference after finishing his second round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament at the La Quinta Country Club Course at PGA West Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. Hahn is tied for the lead with Roberto Castro. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Russell Henley hits his tee shot on the third hole during the second round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Palmer Private course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)— AP

Russell Henley hits his tee shot on the third hole during the second round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Palmer Private course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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CORRECTS SPELLING OF COURSE NAME TO NICKLAUS, NOT NIKLAUS - Phil Mickelson follows his shot off the 17th tee of the Nicklaus Private Course at PGA West during the second round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament, Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)— AP

CORRECTS SPELLING OF COURSE NAME TO NICKLAUS, NOT NIKLAUS - Phil Mickelson follows his shot off the 17th tee of the Nicklaus Private Course at PGA West during the second round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament, Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Roberto Castro reacts after missing a birdie putt on the eighth hole during the second round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Arnold Palmer Private course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)— AP

On Friday, in only his third big-league tournament, the 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie found himself tied for the Humana Challenge lead for the second straight day.

"I'm just soaking it in, having a good time," Hahn said. "Any time that I play a good round, it feels good and makes me cherish the momentum a little bit more, because I know they're few and far between."

He had a brief, combative college career at the University of California - "Let's just say extracurricular activities got in the way." - and took a long, slow path to the PGA Tour. He won twice on the Canadian Tour in 2009 and spent the last three years on the Web.com Tour, winning an event last season and finishing fifth on the money list to earn a PGA Tour card.

"I just worked harder than everybody else," said Hahn, coming off a tie for 67th last week in Hawaii at the Sony Open. "I wasn't doing anything right really the first couple years, but eventually I figured it out. Just going through trial and error is pretty much how I learned to play professionally. And to this day, I still go on YouTube for swing tips."

He put together a highlight reel of his own Friday on the par-5 fifth hole at La Quinta Country Club, blasting a dead-straight drive, and hitting his second shot so pure that it went a little farther than he wanted. Undaunted, he turned to his trusty 54-degree wedge and holed a 30-foot, bump-and-run chip for eagle - part of a late birdie-eagle-birdie run.

"It was a long-drive stat hole, so I kind of came out of my shoes a little bit," Hahn said about his 310-yard poke on the tree-lined hole.

That left him 220 yards, and he figured a smooth 3-iron was his best play

"I didn't want to really overpower a 4-iron," Hahn said. "I had a lot of adrenaline."

He made perfect contact.

"Just hit it too good," Hahn said. "Hit the center of the green, landed it 220, rolled to the back. ... I could have hit it with a 6-iron and probably hit it within 2 feet."

Hahn finished with a 5-under 67 to match Roberto Castro at 14 under after another day of perfect conditions in the Coachella Valley. Castro shot a 67 on PGA West's Arnold Palmer Private Course after they began the round tied for the lead with Jason Kokrak at 63.

Castro had the lead alone at 16 under, but bogeyed two of his last three holes - three-putting the par-4 ninth.

"A couple slipped away there at the end, but yesterday I made a 50-footer on the last," Castro said. "Today, I felt like I hit a good putt and three-putted. So, that's stuff over 72 holes that's going to even out."